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St. Theodósios, Archbishop of Chernigov
Agatha, this glorious virgin and martyr for Christ, was born in the Sicilian town of Palermo of noble and wealthy parents. When Emperor Decius began a persecution against Christians, St. Agatha was arrested and brought to trial before Judge Quintian. The judge, seeing Agatha beautiful in countenance, desired to have her for his wife. When he suggested this, Agatha answered that she is the bride of Christ and cannot be unfaithful to her Betrothed. Quintian subjected her to cruel tortures. Agatha was ridiculed, whipped, bound to a tree and flogged until blood flowed. After that, the judge again tried to persuade her to deny Christ and to avoid any further torture and suffering. To that the bride of Christ replied:
"These tortures are very beneficial for me; just as wheat cannot arrive at the granary before it is cleansed from the chaff, so my soul cannot enter into Paradise if my body, beforehand, is not humbled by tortures."
Then, the torturer ordered that her breasts be cut off and that she be cast into prison. St. Peter appeared to Agatha in prison and restored her to health and wholeness of body. Again, Agatha was led out for torture and again, cast into prison where she gave up her soul to God in the year 251 A.D. in the town of Catania during the reign of Emperor Decius. After her death, the torturer Quintian departed for Palermo to usurp her estate. However, along the way, his horse and the horses of his soldiers became wild with rage. Quintian was bitten on the face, thrown to the ground and trampled to death. Swift was the punishment of God that reached out for this savage crime perpetrated against St. Agatha.
1 Saint John 3:9-22 KJV
9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.
13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
Saint Mark 14:10-42 KJV
10 And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them.
11 And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him.
12 And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?
13 And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him.
14 And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?
15 And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us.
16 And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.
17 And in the evening he cometh with the twelve.
18 And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.
19 And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?
20 And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish.
21 The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.
22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.
24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.
25 Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
26 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
27 And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.
28 But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.
29 But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.
30 And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
31 But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.
32 And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.
33 And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
34 And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
35 And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
37 And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?
38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
39 And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words.
40 And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him.
41 And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
42 Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.
UNSEEN WARFARE
Saint Theophan the Recluse
It is necessary to protect the mind from a lack of knowledge, so it is equally important to preserve it from the contrary, that is, from knowing too much and from curiosity.
Because if we fill it up with a certain amount of information, and thoughts, not leaving the useless ones which are inappropriate and hurtful, we deny it its force, so it is no longer capable of understanding exactly what is fitting for our betterment and ultimate perfection.
So in regard to the understanding of things of the earth, which is not required, even if it is allowed, your intelligence should be like one already dead. Constantly keep your mind inside yourself, with as much concentration as you can, and keep it void of worldly thoughts. Let stories about the past and news go right past you, and allow all the changes going on in the world and among the nations be as if they were not there. If someone bears you news, ignore it and turn it from your heart and mind. Hear what St. Basil said, "Let hearing worldly news be like bitter food to you, but let the words of the saints be like honeycombs." Hear David as well, "The proud have dug pits for me, which are not after your law" ( Ps 119:85 ).
Love hearing only spiritual and divine matters and studying them, and desire to know nothing of the world except our Lord, Jesus Christ, and Him crucified," ( 1 Cor 2:2 ) except His life and death and those things He requires of you. In acting this way, you will conduct yourself in a manner well-pleasing to God, Who elects and loves those who love Him and attempt to follow His will. Every other line of reasoning is the offspring and food of pride and vanity. These are the fishing-nets and bonds of the devil. He sees the strength and determination of will of those who take heed to the spiritual life, and are eager to overcome their minds through such curiosity, to gain mastery over their thoughts and desires. On account of this, he is hesitant to propose to them ideas that are high, subtle and staggering, particularly to those who are bright and quick to make guesses. Drawn to the pleasure of having such elevated thoughts they forget to guard the purity of their heart and to take heed to having a low regard of themselves and to practice genuine self-mortification.
So they are caught up in the shackles of pride and self-conceit. They idolize their mind and so little by little, without perceiving it, they come to the opinion that they no longer require the counsel of others, for they are used to, in every case, to rush to the idol of their own knowledge and discretion. This is a most dangerous thing and not easily fixed. A prideful mind is much worse than a prideful will. Because a prideful will, which is unseen to the mind, can often be fixed by making it submit to a good yoke. However when the mind is steadfastly set on the self-dependent idea that its own opinion is better than everyone else, who is able to cure it? Will it obey someone, if it is sure that the opinions of others are worse than its own? Who will cure the will of someone when the eye of the soul and mind that helps one to see and redress willful pride, is blinded with pride? Then all is a mess inside, and there is no room for nor is there a person who can apply a healing balm. On account of this you must hurry to fight against this evil pride of the mind, before it goes deep into the marrow of your bones. Hold steadfast against it. Restrict your mental activity and submit your judgments to those of others. Become a fool for God's love, if you want to be wiser than Solomon, "If anyone among you appears to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, in order that he may become wise" ( 1 Cor 3:18 ).
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